Smart Parts

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Smart Parts (founded 1989) is a manufacturer of paintball markers and accessories based in Latrobe, PA. Their popular line of markers include the Shocker, Impulse, Nerve, "Epiphany", and the Ion. They also recently released the SP-8, a scenario marker based on the Ion. The re-designed Shocker has become very popular and is used by many professional paintball teams. A second-generation Ion called the Epiphany is their newest marker. There are many different versions of Smart Parts markers that are customized with different features.

The Freak Barrel Kit is one of Smart Parts' most popular products. The Freak Kit is a three piece barrel with a back either in Aluminum or Stainless steel, a tip, and an insert or sleeve. The sleeve allows players to match the correct bore size with their paint. It comes in a large selection of front colors from black to yellow and lengths from 10" to 18". Though the Freak Kit is one of the most used barrel systems, Smart Parts has recently created The Freak Jr. They also produce the Progressive, Teardrop, and Linear Barrels, and the All-American Barrel system.

In addition to equipment, Smart Parts manufactures different kinds of apparel, such as jerseys and pants, designed specifically for playing paintball. They also make clothing for casual, everyday wear.

Smart Parts bought the design to a regulator called the "Max-Flo" that, with the proper manifold, can also act as an A.S.A. (Air Source Adapter) that is attached to the bottom of the grip frame of the gun. The design was purchased from PneuVentures Inc. The same people who designed the original shocker. They have recently developed a newer, smaller version called the "Max-Flo Micro".

Smart Part's most popular gun is the Ion. The Ion is an electronic marker designed for fast firing and relatively good accuracy. It is their cheapest marker, and easy to upgrade, making it popular for new players. It is easily upgraded to more expensive and higher-performance versions, such as the Dynasty Ion and the Naughty Dogs Ion, which can soar into the $500 range and are less popular for new players but are upgraded to perform better than the original.

The Smart Parts shook up the paintball market when it lowered the Ion's wholesale price and Minimum Advertised Price. Allowing dealers to sell them as low as $200.

Its internal operation was similar to that of higher-end markers, including their own Shocker on which it was based. The combination of performance and features at a very low introductory price gave new paintball players access to near-tournament-level markers. This forced other paintball companies to redesign or reprice markers that until then had fewer features but sold for a higher price, beginning a trend of similar inexpensive markers throughout the rest of the industry.

[edit] Patent Controversy

Smart Parts was the first paintball company to enforce it's patents in a public and legal manner. This caused the online paintball community, which had never seen lawsuits filed in this industry, to criticize it as being greedy. This image was reinforced by the semi-underhanded method in which Smart Parts obtained the patents in question: in the mid 1990s, Smart Parts partially bought the rights to the original Shocker design from PneuVentures, Inc., the company Smart Parts had contracted to design the marker. That patent only covered the design of the Shocker marker. However, years later, Smart Parts filed for (and was granted) a patent revision which added the use of a trigger switch to the claims of the design, essentially meaning that Smart Parts had a patent on ANY paintball marker using an elecronic trigger. Only after this revision did Smart Parts begin pursuing legal action against other paintball companies for patent infringement.

Smart Parts issued a cease and desist to all paintball companies that were in production of electropneumatic paintguns and to contact Smart Parts lawyers.

Companies contacted were mixed in their reaction. Many disregarded the cease and desist, others reached agreements with Smart Parts allowing them to continue production with a financial settlement. Some companies in a poor market position simply ceased production of electropneumatic guns altogether and avoided the issue. WGP, the makers of the Angel line of paintball markers, defeated Smart Parts in court by purchasing the remaining privately-held rights to the original Shocker patent from the original designer of the gun, essentially making them co-owners of Smart Part's patent.

Since this time, many other paintball companies have filed suit against each other for trademark and patent infringement issues. However, being the first to do so publicly has left Smart Parts with a cold and greedy image amongst many players.